This microscope view shows the cells that will become the baby in close up (darker curved area). These cells will repeatedly divide and multiply, becoming more and more specialized at each stage of their development.

The waiting is over. If your period hasn’t started, take a home pregnancy test to find out whether or not you’ve conceived.

If you’ve missed your period (assuming that your normal cycle is no more than 28 days and that your period is therefore late), you may want to do a home pregnancy test today.

A home pregnancy test, available at pharmacists and most supermarkets, contains a chemical that reacts if your urine contains the hormone hCG (human chorionic gonadotrophin). This is produced by an implanting embryo and will be found in your urine if you are pregnant. Levels of hCG are likely to be over 50mIU/ml on the day your period is due. With between 97 and 99 per cent accuracy, the majority of over-the-counter tests are sensitive enough to detect this amount, so they can be used on the first day of your missed period; some can be used earlier.

The tests only turn positive once there is a certain level of the hCG hormone present in your urine: if you test too early, the result might be negative even though you are pregnant. Therefore, if you don’t get your period but you had a negative result, test again after two to three days. If you are pregnant, the levels of hCG will have risen, giving a positive result.

If you get a positive result but your period starts anyway, it may be that you have suffered a very early miscarriage.

You can find out within minutes whether or not you are expecting a baby, but as you await this life-changing result it can seem like a lifetime before the symbol appears.